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Dan Schmitt

President and Chief Executive Officer, Actuate Therapeutics

Search every verified Dan Schmitt interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Dan Schmitt, President and CEO of Actuate Therapeutics, discussed the company's work on elraglusib, a GSK-3β inhibitor for cancer, in a November 2025 podcast. He described the company's approach to early product testing, including a "fast-fail" strategy and the use of basket trials to evaluate chemotherapy combinations, with pancreatic cancer selected as the lead program. Schmitt also recounted leading the company through an IPO in 2024 during a difficult funding period for biotech and emphasized maintaining lean teams and efficient operations, stating that the company enrolled 500 patients for about $100 million. Schmitt commented on the state of pancreatic cancer treatment, noting that the last major advance in first-line metastatic disease was the 2012 approval of gemcitabine combined with abraxane. He mentioned a recent approval of NAB irinotecan by Ipsen, which altered the standard of care from FOLFIRINOX to a regimen called LERA FOX, but he said the field is divided on whether that swap provides a meaningful survival benefit. He also outlined upcoming clinical programs, including an oral GSK-3β inhibitor for refractory metastatic melanoma and a Ewing sarcoma program aimed at a registration study.

Recent appearances

  • The Patent Runway Behind a Clinical-Stage Cancer Drug

    March 26, 2026 · 📺 Actuate Therapeutics

    Lou Basenese speaks with Actuate Therapeutics, Inc.'s CEO @Dan Schmitt about the origins of elraglusib and the long-term foundation behind the company. Spun out of university research, the molecule was rapidly advanced and evaluated across multiple cancer histologies. In clinical settings, data have shown both downregulation of tumor growth pathways and activation of the patient’s immune response, including increased tumor-infiltrating T cells. Dan also highlights issued composition-of-matter patents in major markets, providing exclusivity into 2043.

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  • Inside the Data Driving Hope in Pancreatic Cancer | $ACTU | Actuate Therapeutics

    December 03, 2025 · 📺 Lou Basenese

    In this edition of The Upside, Lou Basenese sits down with Dan Schmitt, CEO of Actuate Therapeutics, the biotech behind a potential breakthrough in one of the deadliest cancers. Actuate’s lead drug, elraglusib, doubled one-year survival when added to standard chemo. After treating more than 500 patients, the data points to a true “pipeline in a molecule” with applications far beyond pancreatic cancer. Schmitt explains why upcoming regulatory milestones could be transformative – and why the market still hasn’t priced in the company’s multi-billion-dollar opportunity. 📈 Could this become the ne…

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  • Building A Cancer Pipeline In A Molecule With Actuate Therapeutics' Dan Schmitt

    November 30, 2025 · 📺 Life Science Connect

    On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Dan Schmitt, President and CEO at Actuate Therapeutics, talks about building a company around elraglusib, a GSK-3β inhibitor for cancer. Dan describes his fast-fail approach to early product testing and development, using basket trials to evaluate chemotherapy combinations, and choosing pancreatic cancer as a lead program. He also talks about surviving an IPO during a brutal funding cycle for biotech, building lean teams and efficient operations, and potentially onshoring API in response to changing U.S. policy. Access this and hundreds of e…

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  • Enhancing anti-tumour activity: A post-ASCO conversation with Dan Schmitt

    July 31, 2025 · 📺 pharmaphorum media limited

    Metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) is a highly aggressive, lethal form of pancreatic cancer that accounts for more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. At ASCO 2025, Actuate gave an oral presentation on positive Phase 2 combination data for elraglusib, highlighting its potential to enhance anti-tumour activity by targeting key resistance pathways and immune mechanisms in previously untreated patients with mPDAC. In a post-ASCO pharmaphorum podcast, Dan Schmitt, CEO of Actuate, discussed the data, as well as the Congress as a whole, and his hopes for the future of oncolog…

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  • Daniel Schmitt - President & CEO, Actuate Therapeutics - Targeting Hard-To-Treat Cancers

    July 01, 2025 · 📺 Progress, Potential, and Possibilities

    Daniel Schmitt is President & Chief Executive Officer of Actuate Therapeutics, Inc. ( https://actuatetherapeutics.com/ ), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for the treatment of high-impact, difficult-to-treat cancers through the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3β). Mr. Schmitt brings over 30 years of successful industry experience in operations management, new product development, and business development, having held senior executive positions in both large pharmaceutical and small biotechnology companies, including Fujisawa, Searle…

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The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →